Iranian authorities have denied allegations that the country's security forces were responsible for the murder of a 16-year-old protester, arguing that the victim lost her life when she fell off a roof during demonstrations.
However, the mother of the teenage girl said that security forces murdered her daughter. Nasrin Shakarami said that she discovered injuries on her daughter, Nika Shakarami's, body that contradicted the official statement.
Chaos in Iran
Authorities said in the statement that the victim appears to have been thrown from a building, possibly by workmen. On the other hand, an official forensic report has said that a woman whose death sparked the protests died from failing health.
The family of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, the Iranian Kurd who was arrested for allegedly failing to wear her hijab properly, said that she died as a result of being beaten by the morality police. Amini was detained on Sept. 13, in Tehran under the country's strict hijab laws, as per BBC.
However, police officials have denied that Amini was mistreated and argued that she suffered a heart attack while in the custody of law enforcement. Iran's Forensic Medicine Organization (FMO) issued a statement on Friday saying that tests showed the victim died from multiple organ failure caused by cerebral hypoxia and not from being hit.
The report added that this was brought on by an underlying brain and heart condition as Amini's family previously insisted that their loved one was medically fit. Furthermore, rights groups said that more than 150 people have been killed and thousands arrested since the protests began on September 17.
According to Yahoo News, the situation also comes as Amnesty International argued that security forces in Iran were responsible for the death of Sarina Esmaeilzadeh by striking her with batons on the head during the demonstrations.
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Police Brutality
In Iran, women have played a prominent role, waving and burning headscarves in protest of Amini's death. High school girls were also seen taking part in the demonstrations demanding justice for the victims and challenging Iran's clerical leadership.
In a statement, the chief justice of Alborz province, where Esmaeilzadeh died, said that a preliminary investigation showed the cause of death of the victim was suicide from a fall from the roof of a five-story building.
Chief Justice Hossein Fazeli Herikandi said that the claims that were opposed to the media about the victim's death were "lies." The official added that Esmaeilzadeh's mother said that the 22-year-old had a history of suicide attempts.
In a Sept. 30 report, Amnesty International said that Esmaeilzadeh was one of at least 52 people killed by security forces between Sept. 19 and Sept. 25. The group added that the victim "died after being severely beaten in the head with batons."
On the other hand, Nasrin said that authorities kept her daughter's death a secret from her for nine days. They then took the body from a morgue to bury her in a remote area, against the family's wishes. The 16-year-old has become the latest face of the protests in Iran that threatens the ruling elites, ABC News reported.
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